clarinews@clarinet.com (hewitt/standard broadcast news) (02/02/90)
(WINNIPEG) An executive member of the Manitoba Conservative Party says Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario made the right decision by declaring the city English only. Grant Russell says no Canadian city can afford to humour requests for more and more French. He says the French services aren't necessary...it's just that a select few want to push the point. Russell says that's what happened in the Soo. He says if the English-speaking people in Quebec aren't getting a fair shake...why should French-speaking people get special treatment in Ontario? He adds English-speaking people across the country are getting fed up with demands for more and more French services. Monday night, the Soo's city council voted to declare the city English-only. Sault Ste. Marie was founded by French-speaking Catholic missionaries more than three-hundred years ago. The current francophone population in the city is about five per cent of the total.